


Potential

by blomie2000



Series: Potential (like all of it) [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Awesome Darcy Lewis, BAMF Natasha, Bad Ideas, Darcy Lewis-centric, Hydra (Marvel), Kidnapping, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Steve Rogers is a Punk, octopus nazis, stupid hydra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 02:01:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11704482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blomie2000/pseuds/blomie2000
Summary: Darcy knew that HYDRA was stupid because Hello Nazis! But that they were so stupid that they kidnapped her? Well she honestly was a bit surprised.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set sometime after Age of Ultron, not Civil War compliant.

It had been two years since London, and Darcy had returned to Culver to finish her degree. The rational part of her brain knew that all the things she’ seen and done with Jane and Erik were crazy, dangerous and she should be glad to no longer be a part of it. She was safe, no aliens were going to fall from the sky and she should be grateful to have gotten away in one piece.  
The other part of her brain, the one that had no filter, liked to taze the God of Thunder and referred to the whole thing as The Adventures of Science and Aliens, well that part wanted back in.

She felt left behind. It was probably because they HAD left her behind. After London she had signed a bunch of NDAs, been given a cup of really shitty coffee and told to go back to her studies. Jane had a new lab and toys at the Avengers compound and Erik went back to lecturing. Jane kept in touch when she remembered that there was a world beyond her machines and notes, or when she was craving pop-tarts and there was no one around to feed her. Which meant that Darcy spoke to her about once every two to three months. She was worried about Jane, that she didn’t sleep or eat properly. But she couldn’t do anything about except remind Jane of it when she called.

She had finished her degree and even taken some extra classes. She was no scientist but felt that the years with Jane and Erik should at least have given her some new knowledge. She managed to scrape through a couple of courses, enough to establish that she would never become a scientist by osmosis.

And now here she was, with a degree and a massive student loan, a few boxes containing her meagre belongings and a whole bunch of things she couldn’t tell anyone. The monthly call from her mother to tell her how disappointed she was that Darcy kept wasting her potential was just finished when Hydra decided that kidnapping Darcy was a smart thing to do.

Sweet Thor were they wrong.

They put a hood over her head and drove for hours. Darcy didn’t even try to guess where they were taking her. She really should panic, maybe try to call for help or at least make a token of resistance. Instead she sits and contemplates how long it will be before anyone notices that she is missing. The answer is not very encouraging.


	2. Chapter 2

Three weeks.

Three fucking weeks.

That’s how long it will take for someone to realise that something is wrong.

Her mother would not call again until next month, and Jane… she called a couple of months ago from Spain, raving about a conference and science! and worm holes. Darcy didn’t understand most of the things, but she did get that Jane was super excited and that was enough. Jane was travelling the world and finally getting some recognition for her work. Darcy on the other hand, was stuck in a van with Octopus Nazis.  
Her landlord would probably be the first one to notice she was gone when she didn’t pay her rent on time. But that was still two weeks into the future. A very dark and unpleasant future going by her previous knowledge about Hydra.

When the Black Widow dumped everything secret ever held online, Darcy had spent the better part of three months reading about all the crazy things that had been going on around them. Even though she had been part of a big chunk of crazy herself, she was still appalled at all the things she read. Hydra was a different kind of crazy, one that she bet even Loki wouldn’t poke at with a stick.

Once the van stopped she was manhandled into a building and soon thrown into a room and put in a chair. The hood was removed and Darcy blinked at the sudden light. She was in what was clearly an interrogation room, all white walls and no decorating. Not even a cactus to brighten up the place.

She continued to study the walls around her, picturing what she would have done with the place. A few plants, a rug in a bright colour, a few pictures of scary clowns and a chandelier made entirely of nail guns would be a good start.

Darcy didn’t turn to look when the door opened and someone entered. She was trying to calculate how high the ceiling was and if this room would fit her cut-out board of Thor. It was bigger than the man himself and Darcy had gotten hold of it last year. She felt safer knowing he was watching over her, even if it was just cardboard.

The man now sitting in front of her was speaking but Darcy didn’t bother to listen. From the sound of his voice she guessed that they were asking her questions, probably about Jane and Thor. She wanted to laugh. Hydra must be really stupid and out of the loop to think that she would have any updated information. She didn’t know anything of value and no one was coming to save her. She might as well piss them off, it would increase the chance of them killing her faster.

A slap to her face brought Darcy out of her musings. She finally looked at the man questioning her. He looked like a mean and boring man, just the type that seemed to follow Hydra. Great. He was talking again, probably making threats and promising her candy if she answered. Darcy just looked at him, trying to find a way she might make him look less mean and boring. After a while she gave it up, the man was clearly born to follow Octopus Nazis. Not for the first time she wondered why Hydra had an octopus as a logo. She could practically hear Jane rolling her eyes at her and explain that it wasn’t an octopus, it was a skull and tentacles and would you quit calling Hydra the Octopus Nazis and get over here and hold this?

Sweet Thor she missed Jane.

Mean and Boring had cottoned on to the fact that she wasn’t listening and slapped her again. It hurt and made her eyes water, but Darcy refused to make a sound. MaB, as she now calling him in her head, gave her a smile that was probably meant to be sinister but looked more like he was constipated. He skipped the questions and just threatened her, telling her all the ways they were going to get their answers from her. When she didn’t visible react, he made some sign and a couple of Anonymous Thugs came in and picked her up and took her to a cell. The room had a cot and a bucket and nothing else. This was going to suck goat balls.


	3. Chapter 3

Darcy hated it when she was right.

Being kidnapped by Hydra did suck goat balls. Like Tanngrisnir balls. 

Her cell was just at boring and sucky as it looked. Darcy perched on the cot and took stock of her surroundings. It took exactly two seconds. That done, she concentrated on her body. The slaps had hurt like hell, but other than that she felt fine. Would they feed her? Or drug her? They obviously thought that she knew something. If it wasn’t for the whole nazi douchebaggery she might have felt sorry for them.

She hoped they didn’t decide to forego the whole interrogation and just torture her. Darcy could handle a few slaps and pointless questions. But if they brought out the scalpels she would cave in an instant. And that wouldn’t be good. She might not know or understand Jane's work, but she would never these octopus bastards anything if she could help it. Her plan was simply to annoy them into killing her fast. It was a fairly foolish plan, but it was all Darcy had. She wouldn’t tell them anything and no one was coming to save her. She was pretty much dead already, so she would do her utmost to infuriate them into killing her quickly. 

Fucking Octopus Nazis.

 

After two days of interrogation, slaps, threats, grey porridge and the less said about that bucket the better, Darcy decided to talk. She didn’t answer their questions, she was still committed to her plan.  Instead she let loose all the chatter that her mind had stored up for the last week. Her plans for decorating the interrogation room was first, and after getting over the initial surprise of her actually talking, MaB had smiled. He obviously thought that he had cracked her somehow, and now it was just a matter of getting her to answer his questions instead of describing the lawn chair she thought would look good in the corner.

Sweet Thor was he in for a surprise.

No matter what he asked Darcy ignored it and continued her mindless chatter. It was like Darcy had been training for this her whole life. This was her thing. Of course she could have done without the slaps and the cell and fucking Hydra, but she was doing the best she could with what life and the Allfather had decided to throw at her.

 

A week passed and Darcy's mind was running on autopilot. She wondered why they hadn’t killed her. After another pointless interrogation where she had made MaBs eye twitch after a record five minutes, she knew the answer. Either they really really really believed that she knew something, or they were waiting. Waiting for someone to come and rescue her. She wanted to laugh, but she wasn’t sure if the laughter would turn into tears and so she kept her mouth closed.

Did they think that the Avengers would come for her? Was this a trap? Oh man were they in for a disappointment. How long would it take for them to realise that no one was coming? Since they were stupid octopus bastards Darcy figured it would take them about three weeks.


	4. Chapter 4

Another week passed.

Darcy felt hazy. Like one of those artfully shot scenes from an old movie where the men smoked and all you could see were the silhouettes of the people kind of hazy. She alternated between silent days and chatty days. MaB seemed to have given up on actually getting information from her, now he was just going through the motions and waiting. On her silent days he looked almost depressed, and he kept giving her looks that clearly told Darcy that she should hold up her part of the conversation and not leave him hanging. Well fuck that.

By now her landlord would try to hunt her down to get his rent. She didn’t normally hide from him, but the last few months she had been late in paying him, so he was probably camping out by her door trying to catch her by now. When he realised that she wasn’t there, it still wouldn’t to her any good. He wouldn’t call anyone and report her missing, he would just assume that Darcy had run away from her life like she had talked about for the last year. He would curse her and call her all kinds of nasty things, then he would pilfer through her belongings looking for anything of value to compensate for his loss. Then he would throw all her things in the trash and rent the room out to someone else. So, no help from him.

With still two weeks to go before her mother would call, Darcy started to panic a bit. She had managed to stay calm mainly because she refused to think about anything relating to octopus bastards, torture and that bucket in the corner. But now that was getting harder and harder. Would they ever kill her? Darcy didn’t want to die, she liked to live. But she had sort of made peace with the fact that MaB would snap one day and kill her. It was her plan after all. But he still held on to the charade and continued to question her. Darcy wondered what kind of drugs he took to keep himself calm. Maybe she should ask him.

Just then the lights blinked and went out. There was a commotion somewhere, and the sound of fighting reached her. It seemed the trap had worked. Someone had come to rescue her.


	5. Chapter 5

Of course it was all too good to be true.

Of course.

The Avengers had not come to rescue her.

Well, they did rescue her, but that was just a by-product.

The good Captain America and his flying friend had stormed the Hydra base. But not because Darcy was held there. They were simply on a run-of-the-mill Hydra-destroying road trip, and the only reason they didn’t blow up the base with her in it was because they swept through it before hitting the explosion button. Thank Thor for that.

They were surprised to find a prisoner at the base. None of their intelligence had indicated that. It was a small base with just a few men, which is why Steve had only taken Sam with him. When they got in it was clear that it was a trap. There were too many men to account for anything else. Steve called for back-up, but they would never make it in time. Through sheer dumb luck they managed to subdue enough Hydra goons to have a breather and regroup. It was Sam who pointed out that if this was a trap, then there had to be a bait. Before they blew the whole base to pieces they should find out what that bait was.

They fought their way to the control room and quickly found it. There was a prisoner at the base, a woman. She was clearly meant to be the bait, but Steve had no idea who she was. He sent Sam to collect her and punched his way out again. Darcy was sitting in the dark, cursing loudly. The hazy feeling seemed to expand, making it hard to move anything other than her mouth. She should probably bang on the door and demand to be let out. Instead she just sat there, in the dark, cursing.

When the door to her cell opened she paused. A man in some kind of suit was standing there, the emergency lights combined with her hazy mind made him look like ghost. He moved slowly towards her and knelt in front of her. He spoke slowly and with a smooth voice, asking her if she was okay and telling her that he was going to get her out of there. Darcy focused on the sound of his voice, it was like caramel and she figured that was a good sign. She must have nodded or given some kind of sign, because he lifted her up carefully and carried her out.

She kept still in his arms, not really believing that someone had actually rescued her. The man kept talking to her, and she focused on his voice and let it lull her to sleep. By the time back-up arrived in the form of Natasha and Rhodey, Sam came running out with a sleeping Darcy in his arms. They quickly dispatched of the rest of the goons and blew up the whole base before setting course for the Avengers Facility.


	6. Chapter 6

Darcy woke up in a bed in what looked like a very fancy hospital. She still felt a bit hazy, and everything seemed to hurt a bit. Not like major pain, just a low thrum of pain that she could ignore if something important was happening. Since nothing important was happening however, she felt it.

Fucking Octopus Nazis.

She vaguely remembers being carried out by a man in a red and black suit. It looked fancy. Like the room she was in now. Shit. Fancy and men in suit that raided Hydra bases meant Stark. Darcy groaned and closed her eyes. If she wished really hard maybe it would all go away and she would find herself back in Culver.

Darcy bolted up in the bed. Who was she kidding? She didn't want to go back to Culver if there was a chance she could stay here. Besides, Stark meant the Avengers, Thor and possibly Jane.  

Meanwhile the Avengers were debriefing. Steve was talking about the op while Tony fiddled with his pad. Just when Sam started describing the cells and the woman he'd found there, Tony laughed out loud. This wasn't a very uncommon occurrence sadly. 

"What are you laughing about?" 

Tony gave another huff and gestured to the screen in front of him.

"You need to see the tapes from when Hydra interrogated that woman." 

"We blew up the base, how did you get that footage?" Sam looked genuinely curious. 

Tony just wiggled his fingers at him. Well to be honest it looked more like he was doing jazz hands. When Steve frowned at him, Tony tapped a few times on his pad and then the footage was up on the wall for all to see.

They quickly surmised that the woman in question was one Darcy Lewis, former intern to Doctor Foster. It was clear that Hydra thought she knew something. It was also clear that Darcy was not a woman to mess with. First there was the silence. They were surprised at how long the woman could stay silent for. Then there was the incessant chatter about everything from interior decorating to the design of the Hydra logo. Even Steve had to crack a smile at that.

Afterwards there was silence in the room. If was Rhodey who asked what everyone was thinking. "So, what now? What do we do with Miss Lewis?" Natasha, who had been silent up until now, proposed the solution. "Keep her here, hire her as an assistant of some kind. She knows about us and Hydra and probably a whole lot more. She can keep cool under pressure and she needs protection." 

There were murmurs of agreement around the table. Stark nodded. "I can make up a title for her, but what will she actually be doing?" 

"Have her look after Doctor Foster and the others in the lab to start with. I'm sure she will find things to do by herself as well." Natasha was almost smirking. It was terrifying. 

"After all, she has a lot of potential." 


	7. Chapter 7

Darcy Lewis had discovered that she didn't like Captain America.

She was afraid that statement would get her tried for treason, but she couldn't help it. He was so serious and honest and righteous. She wanted to crack and corrupt him with pop-tarts and glam rock, but no. He just gave her his patented "I'm very disappointed that you can't be serious now"-look. Darcy had seen that look four times during her first two minutes with him.

Natasha had collected her from the hospital room, an experience that Darcy would treasure forever. The former spy hadn't said a single word but Darcy understood her just fine. She also understood that this was a person who would not tolerate her usual mindless chatter. Not that it stopped Darcy.

She was going to be quiet and mature and silent, but then she spotted a robot cleaning up a lab all by itself and she was off. "Who had built it? It was probably Stark. I assume he named it something stupid. He should have asked me, I am great at naming inanimate objects." And so on. Natasha didn't even twitch an eyebrow. Damn that woman was impressive. And scary. Very scary.

And then she found herself in a room with the Avengers. Well, not all of them. But enough that Darcy felt a little intimidated. It didn't help that the first thing Tony Fricking Stark did when she walked in to the room was give her jazz hands and say "Good work kiddo".

They asked her about the kidnapping and Hydra and the interrogations. When she told them of her plan the room went silent for a while.

"You thought no one was coming to rescue you?" Steve asked.

"Well, no one came to rescue me. Sure, you ended up rescuing me, but that wasn't why you were there."

There is a long silence after that. Except that Tony Stark is in the room, so the silence doesn't actually last for more than a few seconds.

"That's harsh kiddo."

Darcy just shrugs. What else can she say? It's the truth.

When she asks about the trap that Hydra had set, it's Sam turn to laugh out loud. This earns him the disapproving look from Steve, but he doesn't seem to notice. Sam was not impressed with the trap, and Darcy has to agree with him.

"There were more men than we had anticipated..." Steve starts, only to get interrupted by Darcy.

"Are you seriously defending the Octopus Nazis right now?"

A few seconds of silence.

"Octopus Nazis?"

Tony looks like he just found the holy grail.

"I love you and I'm keeping you!"


End file.
